Side Effects

A letter in response to Margaret Talbot’s article (April 27, 2009)

Margaret Talbot, in writing about the ubiquitous off-label use of prescription drugs like Adderall, Ritalin, and Provigil by bright, healthy young adults seeking cognitive benefits, concludes that “it makes no sense to ban the use of neuroenhancers. Too many people are already taking them, and the users tend to be educated and privileged people who proceed with just enough caution to avoid getting into trouble. . . . In a consumer society like ours, if people are properly informed about the risks and benefits of neuroenhancers, they can make their own choices about how to alter their minds, just as they can make their own decisions about shaping their bodies” (“Brain Gain,” April 27th). But the potential medical risks of these stimulants are significant, particularly for some college students who turn to them as study aids and as a way to offset the effects of partying. It might be interesting to investigate whether there has been an increase in alcohol poisoning on campuses that also report a rise in the use of cognitive enhancers. In addition, many drugs’ negative effects don’t show themselves for years. Will today’s twenty-year-old users experience more arrhythmias and other potentially lethal cardiac problems in their forties and fifties than those who never used these stimulants? Until more is known, the nonmedical use of a drug may be doing more harm than good.